Material processing apparatus with relatively movable processing components



March 4, 1969 A. .J. SARKA 3,

MATERIAL PROCESSING APPARATUS WITH HELATIVELY MOVABLE PROCESSINGCOMPONENTS Sheet of 2 Filed Feb. 24. 1966 IN VENT ALBERT J- SARKA A TTORNE Y8 March 4, 1969 A. J. SARKA 3,430,542

MATERIAL PROCESSING APPARATUS WITH RELATIVELY MOVABLE PROCESSINGCOMPONENTS Filed Feb. 24, 1966 Sheet 2 of 2 INYENTOR AL BERT J. SARKA ATTORNEYS United States Patent F 3,430,542 MATERIAL PROCESSING APPARATUSWITH RELATIVELY MOVABLE PROC- ESSING COMPONENTS Albert J. Sarka,Fairview Park, Ohio, assignor to Harris- Intertype Corporation,Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Continuation-impart ofapplication Ser. No. 509,754, Nov. 26, 1965. This application Feb. 24,1966, Ser. No. 529, 818 US. Cl. 9336 7 Claims Int. Cl. B31!) 1/18ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pair of cylinders define a cutting nip. Thecylinders have material engaging portions of plates which are secured tothe cylinders and which portions effect cutting of the material intowaste and articles. A stripper mechanism receives the material from thecutting nip and is operable to separate the waste and the articles. Thestrip per mechanism and the rotary cylinders are supported for relativebodily movement to provide for operator access to the cylinders forremoving and replacing the plates on the cylinders.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSer. No. 509,754 filed Nov. 26, 1965.

The present invention relates to a material processing apparatus andparticularly to a sheet material processing apparatus for use in theformation of box blanks.

In material processing apparatuses and particularly material processingapparatuses for use in the formation of box blanks, numerous successiveoperations are performed on sheet-like material. The successiveoperations Which are performed on the material are performed by separatemechanisms located so as to receive the material from the precedingmechanism which has operated on the material and to deliver the materialinto the succeeding mechanism. Thus the various mechanisms which operateon the material are located in an in-line relation immediately adjacentto the other mechanisms. This creates problems in the adjustment of thevarious mechanisms from job to job due to the limited access to theindividual mechanisms. This is particularly a problem in the formationof box blanks as disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 509,754,filed Nov. 26, 1965, wherein sheet material is fed to a cutting and/orcreasing unit in which the material is creased and/or cut into waste anda plurality of box blanks. The material is then fed to a stripper unitwhich separates the waste and box blanks and the box blanks are thenconveyed to a skewing conveyor unit for laterally separating the boxblanks and then to a stacking and shingling unit which effects astacking of the box blanks. The cutting and/0r creasing of the materialis effected by die plates having a cutting and/ or creasing patterncorresponding to the box blank being formed and which are carried onrotary cylinders. These plates are replaced upon a changing of theparticular formation of box blank to be cut. Moreover, the stripping iseffected by rotary cylinders having plates mounted thereon which alsomust be changed from job to job. Furthermore, the skewing conveyor unitmust also be adjusted to provide for the proper lateral separation ofthe box blanks.

Accordingly, the principal object of the present invention is theprovision of a new and improved material processing apparatus in whichmaterial is cut and/or creased and including a cutting and/ or creasingunit which receives the material from a feeding unit and which includesa pair of rotary cylinders carrying removable 3,439,542 Patented Mar. 4,1969 ICC plates which effect the cutting and/or creasing and a mechanismfor receiving the material from the cutting and/or creasing unit, andwherein the mechanism which receives the material and the cutting and/orcreasing unit are bodily relatively movable so as to permit ready accessto the portions thereof which are adjacent during operation to providefor ready adjustment thereof including easy removal and changing of theplates.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of anew and improved material forming apparatus for forming sheet materialinto box blanks and wherein the sheet material is cut into box blanks bycooperating plates carried on rotary cylinders which cut the materialinto waste and box blanks, and wherein the waste and box blanks areseparated in a stripping unit which receives the the material from thecutting unit and includes removable plates mounted on cylinders andwhich must be changed from job to job, and wherein the cutting unit andthe stripping unit are relatively movable so as to provide for readyaccess to the units for adjustment thereof and changing of the platesthereon.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of anew and improved material processing apparatus for forming box blanksfrom sheet material and which includes a cutting unit for cutting sheetmaterial into waste and box blanks, a stripping unit which receives thematerial from the cutting unit and separates the waste and box blanks, askewing conveyor unit for receiving the box blanks from the strippingunit, and a stacking unit which receives the box blanks from the skewingconveyor unit, and wherein the units are relatively movable in thedirection of material feed so as to efiect a separation between units toprovide for access to each of the units.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentto those skilled in the art to which it relates from the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiment thereof made withreference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic side elevational view of a material processingapparatus embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic side elevational view of the material processingapparatus of FIG. 1 and showing units thereof in different positions;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are fragmentary views illustrating different portions ofthe apparatus shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of the material processedby the apparatus of FIG. 1.

The present invention provides an improved material processingapparatus. In general, the apparatus is operable to handle material insheet form and to cut the material into laterally adjacent articles andWaste. After the material is cut into the waste and adjacent articles,the waste and articles are separated. The articles are then laterallyseparated and fed to a location where they are stacked. The apparatusmay be used in the formation of various different articles; however, thepreferred embodiment of the present invention to be describedhereinbelow is especially adapted for use in the formation of carton orbox blanks from sheet material.

As representing the preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG.1 illustrates a material processing apparatus 10 for use in forming andhandling carton blanks. The material processing apparatus 10 includes,in general, a cutting unit 11 at which sheet material is cut into cartonblanks and waste. The material cut into the carton blanks and waste isdelivered from the material cutting unit 11 into a separator unit 12.The separator unit 12 is operable to separate the carton blanks andWaste and deliver the carton blanks to a skewing conveyor unit 13.

The skewing conveyor unit 13 is operable to laterally separate thecarton blanks which are cut from the mate rial and to deliver the cartonblanks to a shingling and stacking unit 14 which is operable to shinglethe carton blanks and stack the carton blanks for removal from theapparatus.

Preferably, the sheet material which is processed by the processingapparatus is cardboard sheet material having the outline of a pluralityof carton blanks printed thereon in closely spaced relation and lying inrows on the material with each row extending transverse to the feed ofthe material. The sheet material is thus cut providing a plurality ofcarton blanks spaced immediately adjacent to each other and in a row andare fed through the apparatus in this manner. The sheet material is sodimensioned that a plurality of rows of carton blanks are cut from thesheet.

A portion of a sheet which is to be processed by the apparatus 10 isshown in FIG. 5. The arrow 15 shown in FIG. 5 indicates the direction offeed of the material. The sheet is provided with two rows, designated16, 17, of printed carton blank images, designated 18. The printedimages 18 are arranged in the rows 16, 17 in the desired number, andonly two carton blanks are shown in each of the rows 16, 17. The printedimages 18 are arranged on the sheet material in a so-called reversenested arrangement, that is, where projections 19 of the images in row16 coextend with similar projections 20 of the images in the row 17.This coextension of these projections is provided by reversing thedirection that the images in the row 17 face from those in row 16.

Each of the printed images 18 contains an area, designated A, which maybe termed an internal area and which will become waste material. Theportions A may be termed internal waste and are illustrated by way ofexample only. Depending upon the type of carton blank and itsconfiguration, such internal waste may constitute a variety of wasteportions, as will be discussed hereinbelow. The portion 21 of the sheetmaterial which surrounds the printed images 18 constitutes wastematerial as well and may be termed external waste.

As noted hereina'bove, the material processing apparatus 10 is operableto cut the images 18 which constitute carton blanks from the sheet andto separate the carton blanks from the internal and external waste. Theprocessing apparatus is also operable to feed the carton blanks formingthe row 16 along one feed path for stacking purposes and the cartonblanks in the row 17 along a ditferent path for stacking thereofseparately from the carton blanks forming the row 16, all of which willbe t apparent from the description hereinbelow.

As noted hereinabove, the sheet material is cut into waste material andcarton blanks in the cutting unit 11. In the preferred embodiment, thesheet material is delivered in a registered relation to the cutting unit11 by a suitable feed arrangement, designated generally by the referencenumeral 25. The cutting unit 11 includes a pair of rotary cylinders 26,27 which have their peripheral surfaces rotating adjacent to each otherto define a cutting nip 28 therebetween. The sheet material is cut as itis advanced through the cutting nip 28.

The cylinders 26, 27 carry projecting members which engage the materialso as to effect the cutting thereof, as well as creasing thereof, asdesired. In the preferred embodiment, the cutting and creasing iseffected by a plurality of projecting lands 30 which are carried byflexible plates or dies 31, 32 secured to the cylinders 26, 27. Theplates 31, 32 are removably secured to the cylinders 26, 27 byreleasable plate clamps 31a, 32a located in gaps in the cylinders.Certain of the projecting lands on the dies cooperate to effect acutting of the material, while other projecting lands cooperate toeffect a creasing of the material. The cutting lands, of course, areprovided so as to properly cut the material at the desired location inregistered relationship with the printed image 18 on the sheet material.The material is also creased in the desired location so that the cartonblanks may be folded so as to form the desired carton. In the event thatthe type of carton to be formed is changed, the plates 31, 32 arechanged by releasing the clamps 31a, 32a and placing other plates on thecylinders. The specific construction of the flexible plates or dies 31,32 and the specific cutting and creasing modes are known and disclosedin the United States patent to Downie, No. 3,142,233, and thus will notbe described in detail herein.

The leading edge of the sheet material, after it is advanced through thecutting nip 28 defined by the cylinders 26, 27, is advanced and guidedinto the stripper unit 12. The particular guiding mechanism may take anyform, but is shown in the drawings as including a tape conveyormechanism, generally designated 33, and which includes upper and lowerconveyor runs which engage the op posite sides of the material along thewidth of the material so as to guide and assist in conveying thematerial from the cutting unit 11 into the stripper unit 12.

The stripper unit 12, as noted above, receives the sheet material fromthe cutting and creasing unit 11 and is operable to separate the cutarticles, namely, the carton blanks, and the waste. The stripper unit 12includes a pair of rotary cylinders 35, 36 which cooperate to effect aseparation of the carton blanks and waste delivered thereto. Thecylinders 35, 36 rotate adjacent each other and define therebetween astripping nip 37 The material which is guided from the cutting unit 11by the guide and conveyor means 33 is received in the stripping unit 12and the leading edge of the material is guided into the stripping nip37.

The upper cylinder 35, as shown in the drawings, may be termed a cartonblank cylinder, and the lower cylinder 36 may be termed a brokecylinder. The upper cylinder 35 is operable to engage and carry thearticles or carton blanks which have been cut from the sheet materialand is operable to carry those carton blanks in a path around theperiphery of the cylinder away from the stripping nip 37. The cartonblanks are then released from the cylinder 35 and delivered intoconveying means for conveying the carton blanks away from the stripperunit 12 and into the skewing conveyor unit 13. The cylinder 35 isoperable to deliver the cartons in each row 16, 17 into a different pathfor delivery from the stripper unit 12 and into the skewing conveyorunit 13. The broke cylinder 36 is operable to remove the waste of thesheet material from the stripping nip 37. Thus, the cylinders 35, 36cooperate to separate the carton blanks from the waste by moving thecarton blanks in one direction away from the stripping nip 37 and bymoving the waste material in another direction away from the strippingnip 37.

As noted hereinabove, the carton cylinder 35 is operable to engage eachof the carton blanks and convey the carton blanks away from thestripping nip 37 and to release the carton blanks for delivery from thestripper unit 12. The carton cylinder 35 includes a plurality of suckermembers 40 which are operable to engage the carton blanks which areadvanced into the stripping nip 37 and grip the carton blanks to conveythe carton blanks in a path around the periphery of the cylinder 35 uponrotation of the cylinder 35. The sucker members release the cartonblanks in one row to be received by a conveyor 61, While the cartonblanks in the other row are released and received by a conveyor unit 63.

The sucker members 40 are arranged in sets and each set includes aplurality of sucker members spaced axially of the cylinder and carriedon a supporting member or bar, not shown. Any number of such bars may beprovided and ten bars are provided in the preferred embodiment, thusproviding ten sets of suckers spaced axially of the cylinder. 'Each barmay be moved circumferentially of the cylinder in order to position thebar in any circumferential position.

The cylinder 35 also includes a surrounding sheath 42 which comprises aflexible sheet of metal which is bent to the circumference of thecylinder and is secured at its opposite ends by fastening means 43, 44,respectively, as shown in FIG. 1. The inner surface of the sheath 42engages the sucker members 40 and provides a sealing connectiontherewith so that any vacuum drawn into the sucker members is sealed.Thus, the sheath member 42 actually functions as a seal for preselectedsucker members and renders such preselected sucker members inoperative.

Certain of the sucker members 40 are effective to engage the cartonblanks so as to carry the carton blanks therewith. The sucker memberswhich are operative project through suitable openings 45 in the sheath42. Thus, only those sucker members 40 which have openings 45 adjacentthereto will be operative to engage the carton blanks. The particularsucker members 40 which are effective to engage the carton blanks arethose which are positioned and located on the cylinders such that theywill engage the carton blanks in a surface area thereof so as to securethe carton blank thereto. Those sucker members which are located so asto engage the carton blank at a out line or so as to engage the wastematerial are not rendered operative and no openings are provided in thesheath 42 adjacent those sucker members so that such sucker membersremain inoperative. However, for a job where the carton blank shape andsize are difierent, a dilferent sheath 42 is provided having differentopenings 45 in the outer periphery thereof, thereby rendering differentsucker members 40 operative. Thus, by varying the sheath 42 differentsuckers are rendered operative for different jobs. The sheath 42 isreplaced by releasing the fastening means 43, 44 and positioning anothersheath in position on the cylinder.

The cylinder 36 of the stripper unit 12, as noted hereinabove, isettective to move the waste material from the stripping nip 37, and maybe referred to as the broke cylinder. The broke cylinder 36 is operableto remove the external waste, as well as the internal waste, of thesheet material from the stripping nip 37. The external waste, as notedabove, may be referred to as the waste which extends around the cartonblanks which have been cut from the sheet material and is designated 21,while the internal waste consists of those cutout areas, such as thearea designated A in FIG. 5, and any other such areas which have beencompletely cut from the main body of the surrounding material. The brokecylinder 36, while operable to remove both the internal broke or wasteand the external waste, operates in different manners to remove theinternal and external waste.

The broke cylinder 36 includes a means for engaging the external waste21 at the leading edge of the sheet material and carries the leadingedge of the external waste around the periphery of the cylinder uponrotation of the cylinder and away from the stripping nip 37. The meansfor engaging the external broke or waste comprises a plurality of pins'90 which are movable radially of the cylinder 36 into engagement withthe leading edge of the sheet material and penetrate the leading edge ofthe sheet material in the waste area, as shown in FIG. 4, and thenconvey the leading edge of the waste downwardly, as viewed in thedrawings, and away from the stripping nip 37.

As noted above, the cylinder 36 is also operable to remove the internalwaste from the stripping nip 37. The cylinder 36 is a hollow cylinderwhich defines a hollow suction chamber 50 therein. The chamber 50 isdefined by a circular sheath 51 which extends circumferentially andcomprises the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder. The sheath 51 issecured to the cylinder by suitable clamps 55, 56 carried by thecylinder. The sheath 51 is similar to the sheath 42 describedhereinabove in that it is a flexible metal sheet which is bent to thecircumference of the cylinder 35 and held in such a condition by theclamps 55, 56.

The sheath 51 is provided with a plurality of openings 57 therein whichcommunicate with the interior chamber 50. The openings 57 are positionedso as to be in register with the areas of the sheet material whichconstitute internal waste when the cylinder is rotating and the materialis being advanced through the stripping nip. In the embodiment shown inthe drawings, the openings 57 are positioned so as to correspond andoverlap with the areas A of the sheet material. The areas A whichconstitute internal waste are thus drawn into the interior of thecylinder and are then moved axially of the cylinder to a suitable wastereceiving location. It should be apparent from the above that in theevent that a dilferent job is being performed, the sheath 51 must beremoved from the cylinder and replaced by another sheath having openingswhich correspond with the portions of the material which are toconstitute internal waste for the new job.

As noted hereinabove, the carton blanks which are cut from the sheetmaterial are located immediately adjacent to each other in aside-by-side relation and in the preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG.5, the carton blanks have a common cut line 19a which extends parallelto the direction of travel of the carton blanks, and thus the cartonblanks are substantially laterally abutting. As should be apparent fromthe description hereinabove, there is no lateral separation of thecarton blanks due to the operation of the stripper unit 12 and thecarton blanks are then received from the stripper unit 12 by the skewingconveyor unit 13 in a Very close, laterally spaced relation. The skewingconveyor unit 13 is operable to separate the carton blanks laterally sothat the carton blanks may be readily and easily shingled and stackedwithout interference between adjacent carton blanks.

The skewing conveyor unit 13 includes an upper tier of conveyors 60 forreceiving carton blanks from the upper conveyor unit 61 of the stripperunit. The skewing conveyor unit 13 also includes a lower tier ofconveyors 62 which receive the carton blanks from the conveyor unit 63.Each of the tiers of conveyors 60, 62 includes a plurality of tapeconveyors which engage the upper side of the carton blanks deliveredthereto and a plurality of tape conveyors which engage the underside ofthe carton blanks conveyed thereto. The tape conveyors are supported ina fan-like angular relation to each other so as to laterally separatethe carton blanks as they are conveyed. Moreover, the tapes areadjustable at their ends so as to vary the angular relationship betweenthe tapes.

The shingling and stacking unit 14 is operable to receive the cartonblanks from the skewing conveyor unit 13 and to shingle the cartonblanks and stack the carton blanks for removal from the apparatus. Theshingling and stacking unit 14 includes upper and lower conveyor tiers70, 71, respectively, for receiving carton blanks from the conveyortiers 60, 62 of the skewing conveyor unit 13. The conveyor tiers 70, 71operate at speeds slower than the conveyors of the skewing conveyor unitand as a result, the box blanks are shingled as they are fed thereto.Moreover, stacking trays 73 located at the ends of the shingling andstacking unit 14 receive the box blanks and elfect stacking thereof.

From the above description, it should be apparent that the units 11, 12and 13 are adjusted and modified in order to change from job to job. Tofacilitate adjustment thereof and provide for access to these variousunits when they are to be modified, the units are supported for bodilyrelative movement. The units are supported for bodily relative movementin the direction of material feed so that an operator may readily workon the units.

The stripper unit 12 includes support frame members having wheelsrunning on spaced tracks 100, best shown in FIG. 1, and may be movedalong the tracks in a direction corresponding to the direction of cartonblank feed away from the cutting unit 11. The skewing conveyor unit 13and the shingling unit 14 also include support frame members havingwheels running on tracks 101 for movement away from each other in thedirection of carton blank feed. When the stripper unit 12 has been somoved, an operator may work upon the cutting unit 11 and/or replace thedie plates 31, 32 on the cylinders 26, 27 and make any other adjustmentsdesired. The operator likewise may operate upon the skewing conveyorunit 13 so as to make the desired adjustments thereto when it has beenso moved. Moreover, the stripper unit 12 likewise may be worked upon bythe operator so as to replace the sheaths 42, 51 on the cylinders 35,36, respectively, and make any other adjustments which are necessary.When the shingling and stacking unit 14 is moved away from the skewingconveyor unit 13, an operator may then make the desired adjustments onthe output end of the skewing conveyor unit 13, as well, andmodifications on the input end of the shingling and stacking unit 14.Thus, in this manner, the various units are associated so as to bereadily accessible for adjustment purposes.

It should be apparent from the description hereinabove that applicanthas provided a highly improved material processing apparatus. Thepreferred embodiment thereof has been described in great detail, and itshould also be apparent that certain modifications, changes, andadaptations may be made in the preferred embodiment, and it is intendedto cover all such modifications, changes, and adaptations which comewithin the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An apparatus for processing material comprising a pair of rotarycylinders defining a cutting nip, said pair of cylinders having materialengaging portions for engaging the material and cutting the materialinto waste and articles as the material is advanced through said nip,said material engaging portions comprising portions of first and secondplates on said pair of rotary cylinders respectively, means for securingsaid first and second plates to each of said pair of rotary cylindersrespectively and releasable to release said plates from said cylinders,a stripper mechanism for receiving material from said cutting nip andoperable to separate the waste and articles, and means supporting saidpair of rotary cylinders and said stripper mechanism for relative bodilymovement toward and away from each other so as to provide for operatoraccess to said cylinders for removing and placing plates on saidcylinders.

2. An apparatus for processing sheet material as defined in claim 1wherein said stripper mechanism comprises a second pair of cooperatingrotary cylinders defining a material stripping nip therebetween andcoperable to separate the waste and articles, separate first and secondsupport means for supporting said first and second pair of rotarycylinders respectively, and means for supporting said first and secondsupport means for said relative bodily movement.

3. An apparatus for processing sheet material as defined in claim 2wherein each of said second pair of cooperating rotary cylinders carriesa removable plate member, and means for releasably securing saidremovable plate member to said respective second pair of rotarycylinders.

4. An apparatus for processing sheet material as defined in claim 2further including conveyor means for receiving the articles from saidmaterial stripping unit, frame means for supporting said conveyor means,and means supporting said frame means for movement toward and away fromsaid second pair of cooperating rotary cylinders so as to provide foroperator access therebetween.

5. An apparatus for processing sheet material as defined in claim 3further including conveyor means for receiving the articles from saidmaterial stripping unit, frame means for supporting said conveyor means,and means supporting said frame means for movement toward and away fromsaid second pair of cooperating rotary cylinders so as to provide foroperator access therebetween.

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said first and secondsupport means comprises frame members and said means for supporting saidfirst and second support means for bodily movement comprises wheelswhich engage and run on tracks and support said frame members.

7. An apparatus for processing sheet material as defined in claim 5further including a shingling and stacking unit for receiving materialfrom said stripping unit, and means supporting said shingling andstacking unit for movement toward and away from said conveyor unit toprovide for access therebetween.

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2,300,713 11/1942 Staude 93-58 X 2,677,994 5/ 1954 Schneider.

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3,117,499 1/1964 Golding 83-100 X 3,270,602 9/1966 Kirby et a1 83-1023,338,124 8/1967 Palle 83-152 3,348,456 10/1967 Marconet et al. 83-103 XWILLIAM S. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

